listening at the speed of life

Do you know my most prized possession of learned content from this weekend? Here it is…

You have to choose to live.

You must decide to let life enter your situations and experiences. You have to go to the door of your life, your “house,” and promptly let death out. He can come in many forms… defeat, illness, strife, anger, frustration, or despair. They all have the same result — death.

Furthermore, death in mind is worse than death of body. Your mind can be fresh and agile while your body is weak. People have overcome life-threatening situations by the power of their mind. Trying to override a matter of reality through the mystery of mental prowess can be a daunting challenge. Everything outside of you says to quit, roll over in anguish, pull the covers over your head and don’t even try to fight. You have to choose, right then, that your life is worth fighting for — regardless of who is in it, around it, or absent from it.

Choice is a powerful drug.

It can cause you to accomplish great things and to clear hurdles taller than you or it can bring the onset of your demise. It, like any other prescription, can be taken at will. Even medicine forced through the veins must have consent. Well, let me tell you something. God gave you the prescription of making decisions… choices… also known as free will. He could have pumped you up with a lot of bondage, especially when the decisions you made were not in your best interest. Truth is, choice is potent and He knew that if you chose the negative for yourself, you would most likely remember not to do it again. In the positive realm, that’s how life is. When you choose life once, you will most likely choose it again because you liked the way it made you feel alive and present. You’ll like the energizing warmth that brings you to smile and mean it from the depths of your being. You’ll love the sound of your own laughter when it echoes through the halls of your soul. You’ll enjoy soaking it all in with no gates in between.

When you kick death out of your residence, you make the decision to live in your “house.” You utilize the keys and access the deadbolts on your potential. Who wants to be a prisoner in the confines of themselves? No, you will not curl up and disintegrate in the dark corners of your mind.You will go in your medicine cabinet and reach for CHOICE. Pop a few affirmations, scriptures, community service, or local kindness (where you assist the person nearest you). It may be hard to swallow because your reflexes say to gag and remain sour or lackadaisical, but ingest the choice to breathe in life. Feel it in your lungs as you’re grateful for the air. Feel it around your waist as your hug yourself and on your hips as your hands confidently rest there.

You matter and you deserve to live EVERYDAY, not just on vacation.

You deserve to feel radiant whether you’re in a mansion or a halfway house.

Let the choice of living digest and before you know it, you’re in the moment. You’re dancing, smiling, reading, exercising, driving, and loving yourself in the decision you made. You evicted death and he no longer roams freely about the rooms of your obligations such as mom, dad, caregiver, friend, etc. He’ll try to get in, but you’ll be ready with your medicinal weapon… DECISION.